Like I Don't Carry Enough Guilt! Sons Of Divorced Parents May Carry A Higher Risk Of Stroke

There's a new study out by the University of Toronto with some not-so-great news. Adult men whose experienced the divorce of their parents during their childhood are three times as likely to have a stroke later in life than sons who remained in intact families. Researcher and co-author Andrea Dalton remarked:

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"It is particularly perplexing in light of the fact we excluded from our study individuals who had been exposed to any form of family violence or parental addictions. We controlled statistically for most of the known risk factors for stroke, including age, race, income and education, adult health behaviors (smoking, exercise, obesity, and alcohol use) social support, mental health status and health care coverage. Even after these adjustments, parental divorce was still associated with a threefold risk of stroke among males."

The study has yet to determine what link, if any exists between divorce and stroke in men (the women in the study had no higher risk). There may be a link between stress and cortisol production, but further study will be needed before any theories are validated.

I wonder why women don't have the same risk - you'd think they'd be equal, considering they're going through the same stress-inducing life events as their brothers. Maybe there's some hormonal advantage we've all got. It's like we've got a stress shield in place.

I'm reminded of a quote I just read from the actress, Mia Farrow:

"I don't believe that stress can kill you. If that were true, I'd have been dead long ago."

Believe me, I know how she feels. And now I have another thing to stress over, thanks to this study. Ugh!

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